Chapter 1346: The Celestial Sect's Second-Generation Immortal Soul Cultivators!
As the Bell of Destiny rang above his head, Lin Feng stepped out of the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World. Wang Lin greeted him outside the realm and bowed in respect.
"Call Tian Quan over," said Lin Feng. "I originally intended to broadcast the news of her attaining the Immortal Soul after you returned. Despite what just happened to Big Luo, we'll have to announce her achievements to the public. I'm just afraid she might feel aggrieved to be associated with Big Luo."
Wang Lin replied, "No need to worry, Master. Tian Quan wouldn't mind." Neither would he.
Lin Feng nodded and gently flicked his finger. A ray of light propelled through the void space and radiated in all directions above Mount Yujing along with the soothing chimes of the bell.
However, the Divine Lands were not at peace.
A single rumor could spread like wildfire through the human cultivation world of the Divine Lands. It may first begin spreading in a small area, but it would run rampant through the Divine Lands within a very short period of time.
Everyone would know that there was a free, unrestrained Hades Beast that moved as he pleased inside the Celestial Sect of Wonders, and he even received the guidance and mentorship of the Celestial Sect's Leader.
And something even more astonishing was, this Hades Beast was the son of then Hades Emperor Tian Hai.
The Hades Emperor Tian Hai remains one of the three greatest demons in the history of the Grand Celestial World. He was the strongest demon of the Modern Age, ruling over the Barren Expanses and posing an enormous threat to the Divine Lands.
During the recent War of the Two Worlds, the Hades Tribe returned to the Greater World and nearly exterminated all of the human race, yet the combined strength of the entire tribe still paled in comparison against the former Hades Emperor's individual might.
In spite of that, his son entered the Celestial Sect and was even taken under Lin Feng's wing to master cultivation?
When word of this spread, both the Divine Lands and the Barren Expanses were violently shaken up. Everyone was discussing about this incident and seeked numerous ways to prove this rumor.
And as time passed, everyone in the Barren Expanses believed that the most convincing testament to the truth was the Hades Tribe's silence, as if they were quietly acknowledging the incident in humiliation. And within the Divine Lands, while the various human sects remained anxious and doubtful, they could only insinuate certain hints as they could not go straight to the Celestial Sect and demand the evidence.
And right at this moment, atop Mount Yujing in the Kunlun mountain ranges, the Bell of Destiny suddenly rung and reverberated through the lands.
When the War of the Two Worlds ended, Lin Feng mentioned something after he added honorifics for his Immediate Disciples. "This ceremony shall be marked by sixteen chimes of the Bell of Destiny so the future generations can remember this tradition and carry on its legacy in our sect."
The Celestial Sect began this tradition when it opened its sect doors to new disciples during that occasion. Since then, the Bell of Destiny would ring sixteen times whenever a Grandmaster personally adds an honorific for his disciple.
If the Bell of Destiny chimes for up to seven times, it signifies the arrival of a guest. The number of chimes is determined by the status of the guest, with one being the lowest and seven being accorded to the most esteemed guests.
If the Bell of Destiny rings eight times, it signifies that the sect was holding a mass internal meeting. All the disciples in the sect, regardless whether they were Successive Disciples or Foundational Disciples, would all gather for the occasion.
And if the Bell of Destiny rings nine times, it means that the Grandmaster Lin Feng would personally host the internal meeting.
The Bell of Destiny would usually ring up to nine times to announce the arrival of guests or notify the members of the sect's internal affairs. However, once it chimes over nine times, it means that the Celestial Sect has something to announce to the world.
A giant lighted illusion appeared in the skies above the Kunlun mountain ranges, distorting and eroding the barriers and boundaries of space-time, allowing nearly everyone in the Divine Lands to notice the images projected within the lighted illusion.
A massive bronze bell appeared amidst the lighted shadows, exuding a sense of conflict and hesitation. At first glance, it looked incredibly miniscule, as minute as a speck of dust, but upon closer examination, it seemed enormous, so big that it would engulf the universe.
The peculiarity of something seemingly so tiny yet so large at the same time confused everyone. They could almost witness the most primal state of chaos as they stared at the large bell, and when the bell chimed for the first time, that primal state of chaos morphed into the destruction of the universe, followed by the extinguishing of billions of stars and a myriad of extraordinary phenomena depicting the birth of countless forms of life, before it finally vanished.
That was the power of Lin Feng's Bell of Destiny. As the chimes resounded, the anxiety and fright in everyone's hearts faded, and they began counting the number of chimes silently.
"... Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five ... twenty-five chimes!" After the chimes died down, everyone was astounded. "Twenty-five chimes ... Did a Successive Disciple of the Celestial Sect attain the Immortal Soul?"
Everyone displayed a variety of facial expressions. All eight of Lin Feng's Immediate Disciples have already attained the Immortal Soul, but the Bell of Destiny still rang twenty-five times. That would mean ...
Everyone fixated their eyes on the lighted illusion. They noticed a man in purple robes standing below the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree atop Mount Yujing. It was indeed the Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, Lin Feng.
Beside Lin Feng stood a young man with white hair, appearing calm and unfazed. It was Lin Feng's third disciple, the Extreme Dao Eminent, Wang Lin.
And in front of Lin Feng and Wang Lin, stood a woman. She seemed to be in her twenties, boasting a tall figure, snow-white skin, beautiful facial features, with straight black hair draped behind her back and reaching below her waist. Her lips were much paler compared to ordinary people. Her skin was extremely fair but her gaze was deep and tranquil.
All the leaders of the various forces in the Divine Lands turned pale upon seeing this woman.
They all recognized her, and even for those who have never met her in person could recognize her as Wang Lin's successor - Dao Yuting.
As she entered the sect earlier due to her head-start in cultivation, she has always been the cultivator with the highest mastery level among the Celestial Sect's second-generation Successive Disciples. Her abhijina and mana reached astounding levels, being fearless and ruthless in battle.
During the recent War of the Two Worlds, she slayed Grand Sages of the demon tribes with her Advanced Nascent Soul mastery, brandishing the greatest achievements in combat among all the second-generation Successive Disciples, even attracting the attention of cultivators from other sects.
But these were still not the reasons why everyone's faces turned pale.
What astonished them was, Dao Yuting, boasting majestic yet elegant mana and seemingly fusing with the heavens and the lands, has successfully reached the Immortal Soul Stage!
Although they could tell that Dao Yuting only achieved the Immortal Soul Stage very recently, they still felt dizzy and dazzled.
A second-generation Successive Disciple from the Celestial Sect of Wonders actually attained the Immortal Soul!
This sudden, unexpected bash over their heads disorientated everyone in the Divine Lands.
Unlike Lin Feng's Immediate Disciples like Xiao Yan and Zhu Yi, she was an Immortal Soul powerhouse who emerged from Lin Feng's second-generation disciples!
The difficulty of attaining the Immortal Soul far exceeds any other transitions between the various stages. Entering this stage would mean elevating oneself to the heavens, transcending the boundaries of the human world, changing so drastically to reach a carefree state of longevity.
No one knows how many Nascent Soul cultivators have been confined to a limited lifespan of 3600 years, and ultimately perished at the end of their lives, only to be reduced to dirt.
During the recent War of the Two Worlds, the Lightning Sword Sect lost their new Immortal Soul sword cultivator Ben Leizi, bringing overwhelming despondence to everyone in the sect including the Lightning Grandmaster. They have not produced an Immortal Soul cultivator for many years, and after finally nurturing Ben Leizi as one, he perished a few years later at the hands of the demon tribes, infuriating the entire Lightning Sword Sect.
Meanwhile, the Sun Radiance Swordmaster of the Sun Moon Sword Sect waited for over a thousand years for the Corona Swordmaster to finally achieve the Immortal Soul Stage.
Chu Yang was the second Immortal Soul cultivator in the Ethereal Mountain Sect after the founding Grandmaster. And ever since the old Grandmaster passed on, the Ethereal Mountain Sect could barely survive after they battled the Aeolus Sect for control over the southern foothills of Mount Kunlun.
During the Anti-Celestial Sect War, Xiao Yan and his fellow Immediate Disciples each achieved the Immortal Soul Stage within a short period of time, astounding the world. And now during the recent War of the Two Worlds, Lin Feng's remaining four disciples - Yue Hongyan, Ge Qingwu, Li Yuanfang and Yang Qing - each achieved the Immortal Soul Stage one after another, attracting widespread attention once again.
All of Lin Feng's Immediate Disciples have attained the Immortal Soul and taken the world by storm. Yet nobody would have expected that another Immortal Soul powerhouse would have emerged from the Celestial Sect's Descendant Disciples.
After the grand ceremony where Lin Feng inserted honorifics for his Immediate Disciples, Dao Yuting returned to Mount Yujing. At Wang Lin's request, she immediately entered the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World to train and finally accomplished the feat recently.
She became the first person among the Celestial Sect's second-generation Direct Disciples to successfully attain the Immortal Soul!
All the other Immortal Soul cultivators were overwhelmed with shock and disbelief at this sight.
Since when did achieving the Immortal Soul Stage become such a simple task?
The Great Qin Empire's Vivant Joy Holy Man lifted his head and recalled the time when he first reached the Immortal Soul Stage. At that time, he had already lived for 2000 years. "At 2544, I've experienced countless failures, endured countless setbacks, and depleted countless resources, but I've finally succeeded ..."
The Sword of Radiance Sect's Purple Cloud Grandmaster gazed at Dao Yuting, lamenting under his breath. He was already 1400, yet the Immortal Soul Stage still seemed like a lofty goal out of his reach, unsure of how to advance through the thick perplexing fog on his path.
It would not be surprising that the eight Immediate Disciples reached the Immortal Soul Stage. After all, their Master was no ordinary cultivator. However, it felt unbelievably surreal that a second-generation disciple like Dao Yuting could accomplish the same feat, especially since her master Wang Lin only reached the same level a mere ten years ago based on the Greater World's time flow.
Even if her training efficiency was boosted by the faster time flow in her cultivation abode, ten years in the Greater World was still an extremely short period of time in the cultivation world.
Furthermore, how long has the Celestial Sect even been in existence?
Lin Feng established the Celestial Sect after several other powerhouses formed their own sects, and already gathered more than one generation of successors when he was an independent cultivator, boasting an already flourishing legacy.
It wasn't just Dao Yuting. Even his Immediate Disciples Yue Hongyan, Yang Qing and the others officially came under his wing before his Sect-Opening Ceremony.
As Lin Feng and his Celestial Sect escalated in strength and overwhelmed its rivals within just a few decades, they also destroyed many conventional rules and common knowledge of the Grand Celestial World. Everyone else was flabbergasted.
Amidst the glowing images, Dao Yuting bowed to Lin Feng and Wang Lin then spun around, revealing her Immortal Soul Avatar. She abandoned her human form and transformed into an immense Taiji diagram which enveloped the skies. Above the giant Taiji diagram, columns of icy fountains gushed out, forming rows of glaciers and a sea of ice.
Lin Feng gently flicked his finger and a ray of icy blue saber radiance landed on the Taiji diagram morphed from Dao Yuting's Immortal Soul. It was a magic treasure!
"Tian Quan, since you're the first second-generation Direct Disciple of the Celestial Sect to achieve the Immortal Soul Stage, I'll give you this magic treasure as your reward. Continue training hard in the future."